Sy – love reading your thoughts. I have been wrestling with many of these same questions. The biggest one for me is what do you do with a student who turns nothing in? They are very, very rare for me. Zeros are crushing. I will die on that hill. I avoid them until I can’t. Would you really give a student a .7 all marking period even if they turned in nothing? Thanks for helping me with my own journey!

Bill Velto, North Carolina

My friend Bill posted this comment in response to yesterday’s post.

So, would I? Would I really give a student a .7 (a “C”) if they turned in nothing over the course of the marking period?

The short answer, yes. I am still the same guy who gave every kid an A back in year one of Project 180.

And now, the long answer.

It’s a bit of a bet, I suppose. But it’s a gamble I am willing to make in an effort to place learning ahead of grading, which really–as I look back now–is what the whole Project 180 journey has been about, discovering better learning experiences for kids. And, with this most recent exploration, I am still seeking that same end. Better learning.

Okay, but how does giving kids something for nothing result in better learning? I don’t know. Yet. And while on the surface it looks like I am simply giving away grades, I like to think that I am digging at something deeper here, and to get to the roots of it, I had to change the dynamic. And that’s the bet. If can change the dynamic, then maybe I can change the experience, and maybe if the experience is better, then the learning will be better.

And so, here, it’s really about changing the dynamic, about changing the interactions and conversations with my kids.

The Zero

As I shared in yesterdays’ post a zero is an indicator of missing work. Okay, so what’s new about that? On the surface, nothing. But when viewed as a starting point for a conversation (a different conversation, the kids know the tired, old talk about zeros damaging their grades. Bill please know that I view zeros as you), then the zero becomes less harmful and more useful. This is how I imagine the conversation.

Hey, kiddo, I see you are missing some Learning Checks, and our tank’s a bit low. (I just came up with this idea, “our tank.” I began with “your tank” but then I thought it might change the dynamic even more if I used “our.” The idea here being if the learning tank is low, then the teaching tank is low, too. Remember, I don’t believe I have really taught anything until I have responded with feedback, and I don’t believe kids have really learned anything until they have responded to my feedback. So, then, the conversation focuses on our not taking advantage of the opportunity to grow as a learner or as a teacher. I am not growing if I am not teaching. I want to grow, and they can help me grow.) I need you to put some work in the tank, so we can move forward. Please take your first step, so I can take my next step. Okay? Let’s keep moving.

I believe this same dynamic changes the conversation with parents, too. I am coming from a place not of deficit (your child is failing) but from a place of movement and opportunity. I need John to submit so I can support.

That is how imagine the “zero conversation” going. And once kids have submitted, the learning continues (begins), and I have chosen to indicate that first step with a .7.

So, really, Bill, when I said “yes,” this is what I imagined. I have long wondered and worried over the question, “Why won’t kids do work?” And I have long known that the carrot and stick were inadequate and inauthentic answers. So, I have sought better. Will this approach result in fewer zeros? I don’t know, but I do know that I previous practice has not worked. So I am taking a reasoned risk.

The C

The learning’s begun, but it’s not done. As I shared in yesterday’s post, I have guaranteed a “C” by taking “D” and “F” off the table. And so with that, really a .7 is an indicator that learning is on the table. And as I shared yesterday, there is an open invitation to continue the learning by responding to the teaching (my feedback). And with that “C” becomes the center, that place where we come together as learner and teacher, and from there we continue together as we engage in the feedback/response process, through which the goal is to get to a 1, indicating done. And eventually, our journey comes to an end, and we have to name the learning with a grade. And since it is a shared journey, I ask the kids to partner with me by selecting and supporting their final grade with evidence from the learning experience.

The goal for all is an A. But to get there, they have to forage on feedback and grow. And now, when I imagine these future conversations with this brand new approach, I imagine our agreement being even more deeply rooted in the evidence of the learning experience. I imagine the conversation turning to the learning still on the table (.7), and the how the opportunity–the invitation–to grow, is still there. That’s the table I am seeking to set, the better I am trying to build.

I hope this helps, Bill. Thank you for helping me stretch my thinking this morning. Wish I could have shared more, but I am out of time, so I am going to wrap it up here, my friend.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.